Suite Life: The Uncharted Ports
by DougStone
Summary: So much more happened on the SS Tipton than was ever caught 'on camera'. Zach and Cody and their friends weren't the only ones exploring the world and getting into hi-jinx on the shining seas. This is not the same Seven Seas High you've come to know! Come on board and enjoy the new stories!
1. New Faces On Deck

Author's Note: This may not be the Suite Life you'd expect. You've been warned.

THE SUITE LIFE: THE UNCHARTED PORTS

Season One

Scene One – New Faces On Deck

"Twins?"

"Twins!"

Harper sighed as she leaned against the polished rail. She'd heard nothing all day but 'twins'. In every conversation: twins. Walking down the corridors: twins. Outside in the sun: twins. Twins here, twins there, twins everywhere. What was with everyone's obsession with twins? There was so much more going on today that was a lot more important.

Ever since Harper had stepped aboard the_ SS Tipton_, her head had hurt. The ship was huge! There was so much to see. And it was all brand new, too. Everything gleamed. The brass fittings, the teak railings, the mahogany accents. And it was so big! As soon as her parents had helped her unpack and disembarked, she'd gone up on deck. She didn't know when she'd have the chance to see the Cleveland skyline again. It looked different from this vantage point. Smaller. She supposed the world would look a lot bigger to her soon. Bigger and smaller. Spending high school aboard luxury cruise liner would do that.

For the next four days, she'd be within sight of land as the _Tipton_ traveled across the Great Lakes and up the St. Lawrence Seaway, emerging into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and finally passing into the Atlantic. Then the open sea awaited. The open sea, and her first day of high school. That in itself made Harper cringe inwardly. But for now, she was happy. Her brown, shoulder length hair looked good, her blue eyes sparkled, and she was ready for the future.

Harper wanted to get more acquainted with the ship, but after driving here and going through the check-in, registration, unpacking and sustained farewells from her parents, she just wanted to chill.

Her cabin wasn't hard to find. The _Tipton's_ corridors were well-designed and signage was posted everywhere. Harper didn't even have to consult her pocket map of the ship as she threaded her way up to C deck, home of the student residences.

Things had already changed. Noise and movement clogged the common room of the suite. Harper stopped for a moment to take it in. Suite C-1212 was on the starboard side of the ship, with her new cabin located through the fore doorway, and a mirror cabin to the aft. The fore doorway was propped open, with a lithe blonde girl drifting in and out, moving mass quantities of clothing and various personal items from the common room to the cabin. It took three more trips before she noticed Harper.

"Wow! Hi! Didn't see you there! Wow! Are you my roomie? I just got here, and well, I was so busy with things … wow. Don't you love this room? I'm so happy! It's so big. Back home I had to share with my sister. Not that I mind sharing with anyone now! Wow! It's so different, because, y'know, sisters are sisters, and well, you're not a sister. I mean, wow, you might be a sister, just not my sister. I'm Frankie, by the way."

Harper had to stand there for a minute and let all that wash over her. "Hey. I'm Harper. Nice to meet you. And yes, it looks like I'm your roomie." She held a hand out.

Frankie squealed and launched herself into Harper's arms. Harper was caught off guard, but managed to return the hug. Frankie was a few inches shorter than her, and very slim. Her blonde hair was wheat-colored and her blue eyes were lighter than Harper's. Harper instantly felt a tiny bit jealous of Frankie's dimples. They were so cute! She reminded Harper of her younger sister Pam, but only in the good ways.

"I am so excited! Wow! I can't wait to get underway! Have you checked your schedule yet? I've been over mine like fourteen times. Okay maybe not fourteen. Maybe only twelve. Y'know, a dozen. Not a baker's dozen, because that would be thirteen. But who talks about a baker's dozen anymore? Not me. Well, not after now, anyway. I don't even like donuts."

Harper took a moment. "Yeah. I prefer bagels."

Frankie drew in a breath to speak again, and Harper quickly added. "Poppy seed. Poppy seed bagels are my favorite."

Frankie beamed. "You knew I was gonna ask! Wow! We so totally get each other already! C'mon, let's arrange our room now that we're both here."

The next hour passed by in a flurry of motion. Harper was barely able to keep up with Frankie as she buzzed around their room. Unpacking was one thing, but decorating was something else entirely different. They quickly agreed on sides of the room – Frankie insisted Harper pick first – and then started on their bedding, night stands, and then the walls. Harper noticed a lot of pictures of Frankie and a bunch of younger kids – siblings, she assumed – in sunny locales. After the bedroom, they moved onto the bathroom. It was cramped, but still, Harper would have more room since she was only sharing it with Frankie instead of four sisters.

They went back to the bedroom to hang out a bit and talk some more. The room had matching twin beds, two desks, a closet apiece, and two portholes for sunlight. Harper was pretty sure that the other rooms looked the same, but now that they'd spent the time decorating it, Harper and Frankie's room looked unique. Harper thought about spending the next four year here. She was brimming with excitement.

"What was that?" Frankie asked, cocking her head at the door.

Harper shrugged and preceded her out the room.

The common room housed several varieties of couches and chairs, a TV, two bookcases, another two desks, a counter with a sink, some cabinets, and a glass-topped coffee table. Near the TV there was a beanbag chair, which appeared to be occupied by a laptop computer sprouting out of a hoody and a pair of long boots. After a second, the clothed laptop squirmed, and Harper caught sight of some dark glasses under the hoody.

"Um, hello?" she said.

The glasses didn't move. Harper looked back at Frankie, who shrugged.

Harper waved a hand at the form. "Hey there?"

The hoody stirred. An impish face regarded her, then nodded in greeting.

Harper frowned, and Frankie shrugged more emphatically. "Wanna go outside?"

And they did. Along the way they introduced themselves to several new students that were milling about and getting acclimated like they were. Teens from all over the country were coming to school here. Harper was one of the few 'locals' to board the ship. The _Tipton_ had been moored here in Ashtabula Harbor for the past three days, and Harper's family had only had to drive a few hours to get here. She'd already met students from New York, Florida, and Washington. Well, both Washingtons, DC and the state.

"Where are you from?" she asked Frankie.

Frankie shivered and pulled her pale yellow jacket tightly. "Cali."

Harper laughed. "Warmer there, is it?"

Frankie looked around. "This is like winter back where I'm from."

Harper laughed again. "You wanna go back inside?"

Frankie perked up. "No way. I hear there's some cute new twins on board, and I wanna meet them."

Harper sighed. It was going to be a long day.

They threaded their way aft to the Sky Deck, the rearmost accessible spot on the ship for all passengers. It seemed to be quite the social center. Dozens of students were ambling about, drifting from conversation to conversation. There were some old people too – regular cruise passengers, Harper guessed – and several uniformed members of the crew. They picked out a couple of bar stools at the service bar and ordered drinks.

"Do you have any money?" Harper whispered.

"Don't you have your student cash card?" Frankie frowned at her.

Harper straightened. "My what?"

"Wow! It was in your student orientation pack! We get one every semester. It's for food, books, other necessities. It's not a lot, but since we're stuck on board for most of the time, it's not like we can just walk down to the local mini-mart, or even to the bank, I guess. Not that I every really did that anyway, because my parents didn't feel it was safe for me to be walking around by myself, which I get, I mean, I guess I do, although I don't really most of what my parents say, and even the stuff that I do get I don't really_ get_, y'know, because-"

"So I don't have any money on me," Harper cut in.

Frankie stopped mid-sentence. "Oh, well, don't worry about it. I'll get it this time. I'm sure we'll be up here again. It's not like we're gonna spend every single meal in the cafeteria. That place is terrible."

Harper reached for her smoothie. "I dunno. I've never been there."

Frankie blinked. "Um, me either. I've just heard from some of the other, y'know, newer students. The other new students, I mean. Like us. Y'know."

Harper felt a scowl pulling at her brow. "Sure," she said, sipping her smoothie. "Oh, that's good. Those are fresh strawberries."

"Always. They get deliveries every month." Frankie slurped loudly on her own drink. "Um, so I've heard. I mean I read, y'know. Online. I read that online. I've been looking forward to this trip for so long. It's really cool. Reading. And learning. Y'know."

Harper snickered, almost snorting up some of her drink. "You have an odd conversational style."

"Well, I'm a blonde."

Harper threw her head back and laughed.

Her laughter was answered by the boom of the ship's horn. Both Harper and Frankie looked up. Harper felt a bolt of pure thrill shoot up and down her spine. She looked up, to where a fresh blast of steam was boiling up from the ship's stacks. A low, steady rumble passed through the decking under her feet. She felt her pulse pick up. They were on their way.

"All aboard," Harper breathed.

AN: This is only the first scene. Any comments? What do you think of Harper and Frankie? What will happen when they meet the mysterious 'twins'? The answer might surprise you!


	2. Just Like Home

Author's Note: I am using original characters, but of course the _SS Tipton_ and Suite Life names belong to Disney. I'm just playing in their pond. PLEASE REVIEW!

THE SUITE LIFE: THE UNCHARTED PORTS

Season One

Scene Two: Faces and Names

"Going to class is the worst."

"You think getting up before noon is the worst, Leia."

Leia rubbed at her forehead, her trademark dark sunglasses covering most of her face. She halfheartedly nudged Harper and grumbled some more.

A few steps ahead, Frankie turned to them and started walking in reverse. "Well I can't wait for classes! It's been three days! Three days just, y'know, hanging around, staring at the shore as it slides by! Sure, it changed every days, but, wow! I am ready for the change. Something to focus on. Something new."

Leia focused her glasses on Frankie. "Something new? Perhaps a chance to make an impression on these hot new twins everyone's talking about?"

Frankie's pale skin flushed bright crimson. "I wonder what the seating arrangement will be like this year ..." she gulped and turned back around, walking ahead of the other two girls.

"Has it really only been three days?" Harper mused aloud.

It had been a whirlwind of activity since the _SS Tipton_ had pulled away from Ashtabula Harbor outside Cleveland and had started its slow, steady plod up the St. Lawrence Seaway on its way toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then the Atlantic as it started its maiden voyage. Harper and her roomie Frankie had met Leia back in their suite on C deck, and although Leia preferred to hide behind her dark shades and laptop screen, she was friendly enough once the ice was broken. Leia didn't like to spend much time in her own bedroom. She hung out in the girls' suite common room almost all the time. Harper wondered if that would change once schoolwork became an issue.

Harper dreaded the start of class. Not that she was a bad student, just that she'd come on this cruise to get away from her parents and siblings – well, most of them anyway – and away from expectations and goals set upon her by them and other authority figures. And the last three days had been like a great vacation from all that. She, Frankie and Leia had explored the ship to each of their heart's content. Frankie in particular seemed very good at navigating the _Tipton's_ many corridors and decks. They'd made themselves acquainted with the ship's wait staff very quickly. Especially the servers at the all-night pizza and ice cream parlors. Leia was particularly adept at making friends in these cases. She had a fluid, affable air to her that relaxed everyone she met at once. As long as she cared to drop the shades and the hooded sweatshirt and open her mouth, that is. Between her dual attack approach and Frankie's innocuously innocent manner, the three of them had made significant inroads into all the service systems of the ship before they'd even hit open ocean.

The three of them had spent all day exploring, and were hanging out in the ship crew's mess, with some of the servers, when they'd gotten around to the subject of school. Well, potential schoolmates. Well, boys.

"So what's up with these twin hotties I keep hearing about?" Leia pointed her brown eyes at Frankie as the three of them picked at some leftover Waldorf salad.

Frankie pointedly crunched down on a particularly noisy bite of salad and shrugged in an over-nonchalant way. Leia rolled her eyes and Harper giggled. It had become clear that Frankie had never had a boyfriend, but was desperate for her first experience. Frankie, like most of the girls aboard, just wouldn't stop talking about 'the twins.'

"Why does everyone care about twins so much?" Harper asked.

Leia stretched and ran a hand through her unkempt dirty-blonde hair as she stabbed at the salad. "Double the fun, I guess. My brother tried to go out with twins once. But it was too confusing for him, like a lot of things."

"I hope they're blonde," Frankie sighed.

"Why?" Harper asked.

Leia munched some salad. "It levels the playing field, right?"

Frankie covered her mouth and laughed around her salad. Leia next directed her dark gaze at Harper. "What about you? Boyfriend much?"

Harper chewed for awhile. "Hey, this is great stuff. What's in this, Bernie?"

The question was directed at the next table over, where some of the Tipton's serving staff were having a meal. A largish man, chef's hat and neatly-trimmed beard in view, turned to them. "Claw."

Harper, grateful for the distraction, blinked at him. "Claw?"

"Oh yes, miss. CLAW: Celery, lettuce, apples, walnuts. Dressed in mayonnaise. Plus perhaps a little bit of secret ingredient that I added myself." Bernard, ship's sous chef, spoke with the faintest accent, from where Harper couldn't say.

"What's the secret ingredient?"

His brows rose conspiratorially. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure."

He leaned in. "So can I."

Harper smiled.

Bernie leaned back. "Now I think maybe you three ruffians should be getting along home."

Leia put on a pout. "Hey, I am the only ruffian here. These two are proper ladies."

"Well, then, my lady ruffian; it's a school night. Why don't you let these two ladies escort you home?" Bernie proffered.

The three of them groaned. But they didn't argue. They weren't even supposed to be in the crew mess. But they always had the best food.

It wasn't until they were almost back to their cabin that Harper stopped walking abruptly. "What?" Leia asked.

"It just hit me. Bernie called this place 'home'. And none of us batted an eye."

Frankie just smiled. She opened the door to their suite.

And stopped in mid-stride. The common room had been transformed. Loud, thumping music rattled through the walls and the floor, colored lights swirled and blinked. Several thousand dollars worth of stereo equipment now sat hunched around the TV set, and was the source of the noise. An actual mirror ball now hung from the ceiling, and strings of multicolored lights draped the walls. The couches and other seats now sported violently colored drop clothes and overstuffed throw pillows. Posters of every shade were haphazardly stuck along the walls. There was a fish-tank where one of the bookcases had been. There was a fondue pot simmering on the coffee table, and a spread of other finger foods beside. On the counters near the sink sat several bottles of sparkling cider, some varied breads and toppings. Flowers dotted the room: carnations and birds of paradise, hyacinth and heather, lilacs, orchids, peonies …

"Oh my," they all breathed.

"You're here! Finally!"

What Harper had thought was some sort of lacy throw now unfolded itself from the couch, and resolved into the form of a willowy, shockingly redheaded girl. The redhead floated over to them and gave them each a frail hug in turn. "I'm so happy to meet you all. I was wondering when you'd get back. It was so lonely here, and I got bored, so I put up a few things. And then I put up a few more. And a few more. And then I made some food. And then I made some more. And some more."

She spoke with a kind of tonal listlessness, like her words came out without any force behind them. Harper noticed that while her hair was red – not ginger like she'd seen before, but fire engine red – her eyes were dark chocolate brown. That plus her languid demeanor made for quite the combination. At five foot nothing, she stood there in her wispy silk dress and smiled.

"Tell me you're not my roommate," Charlie said darkly.

"You're not my roommate," the redhead said.

"Really?"

"Well, you told me to say 'you're not my roommate', so I did." The redhead played with her hair and smiled some more.

Harper realized she was biting her lip so she wouldn't laugh. She saw that even Charlie was covering her mouth. "Hi. I'm Harper."

"I'm Frankie." Frankie nudged Leia, who was still standing there, arms crossed.

"I'm Leia."

"Hey, that's pretty. FrankieHarper, like the big scary thing in the movie with the bad forehead. FrankieHarperLeia. No, that's no as good. FrankieHarperLeia Vienna. Yeah, that's prettier. Of course, everything's prettier with Vienna. Oh, that's me! I'm Vienna. Hey, that's neat!"

"Vienna?" Harper asked.

"Where?" The redhead, Vienna, looked around.

"What happened here?" Harper said.

"Where?" Vienna asked again, looking around in confusion.

"What did you do to our room?"

"Where?"

Leia stepped up. "Hey, I have an idea. Vienna, you know whatever you were doing before we came in the room? How about you do that some more."

"Yay!" Vienna said. She promptly walked back over to the couch and sat down, staring at the suite door. And then she sat there some more.

Leia sighed heavily and trudged over to the aft doorway. Vienna watched as the door closed firmly behind Leia. Harper and Frankie made their way over to the couches. The fondue pot wasn't full of cheese as Harper believed, but something brown and aromatic. On the table were china dishes of caramel, multicolored sugar crystals, mini chocolate chips, and curiously, a bowl of water.

"Um, chocolate fondue?" Harper ventured.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean. Yes. Chocolate, yes. What's fondue?" Vienna said airily.

"Fondue is traditionally melted cheese that you dip meats and other foods into," Frankie said, grabbing some tongs and stirring the pot, "but in the latter half of the 20th century it was expanded to mean any melted food used for dipping, melted chocolate being chief among such foods."

"Hey, are you a robot?" Vienna asked, head tilted.

"She reads a lot," Harper said.

The three girls spent the next hour or so nibbling at the spread laid out before them, chatting and getting to know each other better. At some point, Leia drifted out of the bedroom and joined them on her beanbag chair, but didn't eat.

"So, Vienna, your daddy got you a spot on the cruise? I thought we were full up," Charlie said.

"Yeah, and we haven't stopped since we left the Port. I didn't see you on board," added Harper.

"Oh, I flew. In an eggbeater."

The three girls regarded her for a moment. "You mean a helicopter?" Harper provided.

Vienna sat unblinking. "Okay."

"What does your dad do, Vienna?"

"He gives me money."

"Um, okay. How?"

"He walks through the door and gives it to me. Well, most of the time, the servants do it. Or Mr. Senger."

The girls waited. "Mr. Senger?"

Vienna nodded. "Yeah. He comes to the door with a name tag. It says, 'me senger'. I guess it's in case he forgets. I know how that can feel."

There was a moment of pregnant pause. "You mean a messenger?"

Vienna cocked her head. "No. How does it feel to be a messenger?"

Harper leaned over to Frankie. "Remind me not to copy off her notes in class."

From there, talk turned to school. Eventually, the girls' sugar rush wore off and they drifted off to their beds. Compared to the new party scheme of the common room, Frankie and Harper's room seemed quite demure now. As Harper lay there, snuggled under her comforter, the gentle rocking of the water and the muted sounds of shipboard activity lulled her to sleep. It really was starting to feel like home to her.

Monday morning was warm for the Northeast, which meant Frankie was wearing six layers of clothing as they made their way to the main deck and their first class. Leia wore her usual light sweater. She was from Colorado. She was used to six months of winter. Harper had on her usual comfy jeans, black flats, a tank and her warm plaid button down over it. Her hair was in a simple, loose tail, pulled back to show off her cheekbones.

As they neared the classroom, it kept coming to her ears, carried on the breeze, coming from every knot of students: twins, twins, twins. Some said it like a sigh, as if twins meant movie stars. Some said it like a curse, as if twins meant freaks. Some said it with curiosity, like twins meant an ancient relic from some foreign land. Harper rolled her eyes. You'd think the circus was in town.

As passed through the doorway, several pairs of eyes turned their way. Gazes of many varieties tracked their movement as their eyes adjusted to the lighting. Across the room, a lanky, brown-haired teen with glasses looked their way. He spoke quietly to a young black man next to him, then rose from his desk and headed their way.

Frankie's breath caught. "Oh my, he's cute. Is he coming toward us?"

Leia elbowed her. "Dibs," she said quickly.

Frankie squeaked in protest, pouting in silence.

Harper fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. "Not again."

Leia nudged her now. "Harper, do you know him?"

"All my life. How's it going, Turtle?"

The boy drew up to a familiar distance and rolled his eyes in a manner very similar to the way Harper did.

"It was going perfectly, Strings. But then you walked in. Following me around again like always, I see."

Harper snorted. "Excuse me, but I believe you've got that backwards, Turtle."

They stared at each other in silence for several seconds.

Leia poked Harper in the side. "Ahem. Manners. Introduce us, why don't you?"

Harper sighed. She turned and stood next to the boy, who was the same height as her, had the same hair color as her, and the same eye color too …

"Frankie, Leia – meet Shelby. He's my twin brother."

Author's Note: Dum, Dum, DUMMMM!

So the twins everyone's been talking about are NOT Zach and Cody! Are you surprised? What will happen next? Please review!


End file.
